Growing with style: How Patrice Louvet revived Ralph Lauren

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

Patrice Louvet, president and CEO of Ralph Lauren, knows a thing or two about growing with style. He's taken the fashion house's global and digital reach to new heights, all while preserving the brand's iconic look. In this episode of This is Working, Louvet talks to  LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth about marketing finesse, the subtle alchemy of brand evolution, and the art of keeping a legacy brand both relevant and authentic — and his management style. When Louvet took over Ralph Lauren had a storied past, massive brand recognition and a particularly valuable, one-of-a-kind asset — founder Ralph Lauren himself. But the company had seen better days. Over the years, Patrice said, Ralph Lauren had lost its way in the U.S. In a nutshell, overdistribution in the pursuit of growth had led to dilution of the brand Lauren had launched with a single tie decades earlier, audaciously priced at three times competitors like Christian Dior. It was time for a reset. It wouldn't be easy, but the global tragedy that was COVID was forcing hands across every industry anyway, so at least the timing was right. How Louvet keeps Ralph Lauren as going as one of the fashion world's most successful dream factories was topic one. The idea that consistently creating fashion people want to buy starts not on a drawing board or what colors will be hot next year, but as the embodiment of a vibe that Lauren himself conjures, is a major differentiator. "He and I had a fascinating conversation a few months into my tenure," Louvet said. "The company was going through challenging times and it felt like we need to get back to our roots. And a lot of people would say, 'Well, Ralph Lauren, you do great dresses or shirts or ties. And we would say, 'Actually, no, that's not the business we're in.’ We shut down about two thirds of our department store doors, and I don't regret it," Louvet said. "We took the hit, the numbers were ugly, but we weren't in this for one quarter or a year. We're in this for the next 10 to 20 years and felt like we absolutely had to do this reset, and it is serving us super well." To get more great insights from leaders direct to your inbox, subscribe to the free This is Working newsletter here.

This Is Quick: How Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet leads the brand (with style)

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

This Is Quick– the lightning round of This Is Working. The CEO of Ralph Lauren, Patrice Louvet, speaks to Editor in Chief Daniel Roth about the best advice he ever got and how he manages his time. Among the reveals: - Why he prioritizes EQ when he hires - How his success is thanks in part to his drive but also his flexibility in the face of new opportunity -  Why he thinks that “Sometimes people need to be hit, hit by a 2x4 across the forehead.”

"We were never going to miss one again" — Cisco Chair & CEO on the AI revolution

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

"We were never going to miss one again … We were never going to deny a transition was happening." Cisco is one of the handful of companies from the dawn of the digital age that is still going strong. But as Chair and CEO Chuck Robbins told LinkedIn Editor in Chief Dan Roth, it isn't Cisco's many successes that propels him now, at the dawn of the AI age — it was missing the cloud wave. That was then, this is now: Robbins says a small fraction of enterprises are prepared for the AI revolution and a vast majority know they don't have much time to get up to speed. Since Cisco has dealt with major enterprise customers for decades and still routes about 85% of the world's internet traffic, Robbins says Cisco is well positioned to seize this opportunity. But navigating this tectonic shift in tech is only part of the problem. Robbins says the pace of re-skilling will be unlike the world has ever seen, and that getting people to adapt as quickly as necessary will require an emphasis on soft leadership skills. In a wide-ranging interview we talked learning from mistakes, the need for "proactive education" to ensure the workforce can take advantage of a future of work that is already upon us, and why EQ is more essential than ever.  To keep up with these conversations and get inspired by the world’s top leaders, subscribe to This is Working: linkedin.com/thisisworking.

The secret to Google CMO Lorraine Twohill's success

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

It could be that the best person for a tough job is the one who thinks she isn't. That's what people like Google CEO Eric Schmidt and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki thought when they prodded their founding EMEA marketing head, Lorraine Twohill, to be a big fish in a big pond: Cross the pond to become Chief Marketing Officer. More than two decades later, the matter is settled.  It wasn't the first time Twohill wasn't entirely sure about a Google gig. The first time she didn't even know what the job was until she got through 22 interviews. "A lot of people at the time thought I was nuts," she said, "What is this Google thing? It was a small company at the time, but, of course that was a really exciting time to join." It got a lot more interesting, of course. Listen in on this edition of This is Working to see how one of the longest-lasting senior women executives in Big Tech thinks about EQ, IQs what AI can and can't do.

Feed Drop: Dan Roth shares his career pivot story on Suzy Welch’s Becoming You podcast

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

We’re offering a little something different for anyone seeking inspiration at the new year - a bonus episode featuring LinkedIn Editor in Chief Dan Roth on Suzy Welch’s new podcast, Becoming You. If you’ve ever been curious about how exactly Dan landed at LinkedIn, this is the episode for you. And if you’re pursuing your own career pivot, check out Becoming You wherever you get your podcasts. The whole This is Working team wishes you a bright 2025. We’ll be back soon with more great advice from top leaders.

Dr. Fei-Fei Li sees a bright future with AI

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

As we wind down 2024, the This is Working team is starting to dream big for 2025. Of course that means we have AI on our minds. And we’re not alone. AI has more than one spot on LinkedIn’s recent Big Ideas list. Who better to learn from than Fei-Fei Li, AI pioneer? Dr. Li is an AI researcher and professor at Stanford University and serves as Co-Director of Stanford’s Human-Centered AI Institute. In this conversation with LinkedIn Editor in Chief Daniel Roth, Dr. Li shares her vision for a collaborative future with our advancing artificial intelligence. To meet 2025 head on, subscribe to Dan’s This is Working newsletter. You’ll get top takeaways from today’s leaders, direct to your inbox.

This is Quick: Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates on AI's impact and his favorite bad work experience

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

On this week's rapid fire Q&A, Bridgewater Founder and Chief Investment Officer Ray Dalio advises starters in the finance industry to just dive in — "know what you don't know" — wants Gen Z to know that pain plus reflection equals progress (and why everyone should meditate), the gigantic early career error that made him stronger, and much more.

Turning Mattel around was not child's play for CEO Ynon Kreiz

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

When Ynon Kreiz took over as CEO of Mattel, he became the company's fourth chief executive in four years. His three predecessors had all resigned. The storied, 80-year-old toy company was still a top brand, but it was fraying at the edges and it needed a fresh start, some new ideas, and someone who was willing to take some risks. Already a board member and a three-time CEO "drawn to perhaps maybe more complicated, more challenging situations," Kreiz had a brainstorm: Customers aren't really customers — they're fans. If you have enough of them, you have an audience. And playing to an audience is very different from manufacturing widgets.  So he took his big gamble. "The company should transition from being a toy manufacturing company that was making items and become an IP company that is managing franchises," Kreiz told Dan Roth on the latest edition of This is Working. Perhaps the Barbie movie is the most visible manifestation of Kreiz's vision for Mattel. But there is so much more in Dan Roth's interview for This is Working: How he hires, fires and reassigns, and his three chief management principles: collaboration, innovation, and execution

This is Quick: Serial entrepreneur Fawn Weaver talks about unplugging, mentors and the power of instinct

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

On this week's rapid fire Q&A, Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver tells LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth why she completely unplugs — without fail — for 24 hours every week, why her mentors are all "old dead white guys," and why you should always — always — go with your gut.

This Is Quick: why Neal Arthur just wants to hear your story

This Is Working with Daniel Roth

This Is Quick is the lightning round of This Is Working. Today on the hot seat is Neal Arthur, CEO of Wieden + Kennedy, one of the largest indie ad agencies in the world. They're the creative brains behind some of the most iconic commercials of our era (Nike's Just Do It, the Coca-Cola polar bears, to name a few). He told LinkedIn's Editor in Chief Daniel Roth how he maintains focus at work, why he gets nothing from asking traditional interview questions, and who he always listens to when they talk. To get more great insights from leaders direct to your inbox, subscribe to the free This Is Working newsletter on LinkedIn.